Aïn Defla ( ar, عين الدفلى, lit. ''
oleander
''Nerium oleander'' ( ), most commonly known as oleander or nerium, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the only species currently classified in the ge ...
spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season), a season of the year
* Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy
* Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water
* Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...
'') is the capital city of
Aïn Defla Province
Aïn Defla ( ar, ولاية عين الدفلى, is a wilaya (''province'') in northern Algeria. It is located to the southwest of Algiers, the capital. Localities in Ain Delfa include Khemis Miliana, Miliana, Hammam Righa, Oued Zebboudj and A ...
,
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
. It is also a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
.
History
In
Roman times the city was called Oppidum Novum. The vestiges of the
Oppidum
An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...
Novum are still visible.
The current city was founded in the 20th century by a soldier named youcef afg of the rank of
agha, with the idea of bringing together the
indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
populations from the villages of the region.
This region of uneven terrain, which was considered unstable and dangerous by the French during the
Algerian War
The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...
, had for this reason been declared a forbidden zone.
In the 1990s, the same region was a stronghold of the
Armed Islamic Group
The Armed Islamic Group (GIA, from french: Groupe Islamique Armé; ar, الجماعة الإسلامية المسلّحة, al-Jamāʿa l-ʾIslāmiyya l-Musallaḥa) was one of the two main Islamist insurgent groups that fought the Algerian gover ...
(GIA). There was fighting between militants and government troops in January
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
.
References
Communes of Aïn Defla Province
Province seats of Algeria
{{AïnDefla-geo-stub